A new innovation called metal organic frame works (MOF) may soon effect agriculture. MOF’s are very small organic (carbon) molecules with a metal bridge. They are quite small but have a tremendous amount of pore space. For example, a few grams (454 grams per pound) can have the surface area of an entire football field. The MOF’s have layers of single metal atoms that attach to the carbon to form porous sheets that fold upon themselves in a ball. This increased porosity can be used for a number of technological uses, some in agriculture, others in electronics, and even medicine.  For example, about 1.8 billion people are in need of water throughout the world. Dr. Omar Yaghi researched and made a MOF-5 compound that contains zinc. Zinc connects many folds of carbon together in a small ball with high porosity. Dr Yaghi got the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery and technically invention. These synthetic crystal substances do not exist in nature and need to be manu...

  A new innovation called metal organic frame works (MOF) may soon effect agriculture. MOF’s are very small organic (carbon) molecules with a metal bridge. They are quite small but have a tremendous amount of pore space. For example, a few grams (454 grams per pound) can have the surface area of an entire football field. The MOF’s have layers of single metal atoms that attach to the carbon to form porous sheets that fold upon themselves in a ball. This increased porosity can be used for a number of technological uses, some in agriculture, others in electronics, and even medicine. For example, about 1.8 billion people are in need of water throughout the world. Dr. Omar Yaghi researched and made a MOF-5 compound that contains zinc. Zinc connects many folds of carbon together in a small ball with high porosity. Dr Yaghi got the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery and technically invention. These synthetic crystal substances do not exist in nature and need to be manufactur...

Last week, Legacy Nutrient Tax Deductions (LNTD) were discussed and this is a follow up. This is a 1960’s tax deduction for oil, gas, mining, agriculture, and even timber production. It allows farmers to deduct the “excess value” of soil nutrients as a depreciating asset. For 60 years this deduction was ignored but now the IRS has finally come up with tax rules for this deduction. This article will explore how some farmers using this deduction. Consult with your attorney and CPA whether you want to pursue this deduction. Here are some common problems farmers have had with this tax deduction. First, many were taking deductions too quickly or excessively. Improper sampling (mixed depths, inconsistent grids) are an issue. It is easy to double count current owner tenant inputs. Bad baselines will inflate “excess” nutrient values. Thin documentation, i.e. can’t satisfy PLR MSSP guidance for tax purposes. The biggest problem most farmers who are looking into this deduction was how to documen...

Everyone is required to pay taxes but no more than the law requires. Farmers have many assets which may depreciated to lower taxes. Congress has given a few businesses including oil, mining, and even agriculture ways to depreciate assets that are consumed. For example, back in the 1960’s; Congress allowed oil and mining companies to depreciate the value of their investment in oil and minerals. Included in that legislation was the same deductions for agriculture and timber. For 60+ years, those federal tax deductions have been ignored but now tax rules have been written to allow farmers to deduction the nutrient or fertilizer value of their cropland and even timber, as a tax deduction. Barry Ward, OSU Farm Management Economist discussed this recently at a farm meeting. While CPA’s and lawyers have a right to be skeptical, they can sort it out by reading the tax laws (more on that coming). The federal tax deduction write off discovery occurred about 5 years ago. A Brazilian farmer/busine...

  Corn crop prices are low and fertilizer prices are high. Farmers are looking for ways to lower their nitrogen (N) fertilizer bill. University N recommendations have changed over the years. University N research in the 1950’s advocated heavy N fertilizer because yield increased as N application increased?? Extra N fertilizer was a cheap fertilizer insurance policy. About 10–15 years ago, universities re-examined that original data and found little direct relationship between higher corn yields and higher N rates. The relationship was quite variable! Five major factors like temperature, moisture (weather), soil pH, soil oxygen levels, and soil organic matter (SOM) affects plant N uptake. The N relationship to yield is so variable that universities went to a N application rate based on the price of N relative to crop prices. As N prices increase and crop prices decrease, economically it’s better to cut back while if N is cheap and corn prices high, the N rate is increased to increas...

Getting a new herbicide approved may take 12–15 years and cost over $300 million dollars. That’s just for the successful herbicides. The last new herbicide modes of action occurred about 40 years ago, but now several companies are finally releasing new herbicides effective against weed resistant weeds. Developing safe new herbicides is a multi facet project. First, large numbers of chemicals have to be manually screened. Now with AI, this process is much faster. Today most new herbicides are designed to be more site specific for either a targeted site or a weed group. After screening, it has to be tested multiple times to make sure it is biologically active but also does not harm the crop. Then environmental testing and toxicology tests are performed followed by field testing and formulations. A new herbicide has to cross several hurdles to get approved. Bayer invests about 1 billion dollars per year in agricultural research looking for new herbicides and or modes of action. The first ...

Entering a new year is a time when people look to future possibilities. Farming is changing quickly with artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and data processing. Another change is how we farm, horizontally versus vertically. Vertical farming is growing crops in stacked vertical layers, often with the use of hydroponics and definitely with a controlled environment. Why the need for vertical farming? Our population is growing about 1% per year and current estimates are that by 2050, the world will need about 50% more food. In the last 40 years, almost 40% of our arable land used for farming has disappeared or is no longer available for farming. Houses, cities, streets, and roads take up a lot of land used to grow crops and food. By 2050, almost 80% of the people will live in urban areas and many of these areas are becoming food deserts without access to quality healthy green vegetables and crops. With vertical farming, crops are now being grown in skyscrapers, warehouses, and even sh...

  Dr. Eileen Kladivko, agricultural engineer, Purdue University has conducted drainage research for 44 years. About 35 years ago, Purdue installed 4 inch plastic tile on hard to drain, clay resistant soils (Clermont somewhat similar to Paulding Clay). Clemont soil has a clay pan 2.5 to 3 feet deep which act like a bowl, filling up with water so the subsoil stays wet. This research started in the 1980’s using 5, 10, 20 meter spacings (16, 33, 66 feet) compared to no tile drainage (over 40 m or 132 feet). Dr. Kladivko data shows that drainage pays, even on tough clay soils with a claypan. Benefits include more timely spring field operations; improved yields; positive results from other conservation practices; and improved cover crop, hay, and small grains crops growing in the fall and over the winter. Kladivko found that even during dry times, there were positive benefits subsurface tile drainage. The first 10 years, the rotation was corn after corn due to farmers interest in that pr...